Prescriptions overhaul to save NHS £200m

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said that homeopathy was a misuse of NHS fundsStefan Rousseau/PA

Several pain relief medications, antidepressants and vaccination drugs are set to be cut from the prescription list in a plan to save the NHS almost £200 million per year.

The move follows a review by NHS England of treatments it deems “should generally not be prescribed”. It is hoped that the savings can be used to fund more effective treatments.

The review listed ten treatments deemed to be unsafe or to have low clinical effectiveness, seven medicines that were superseded by more cost-effective alternatives and travel vaccines deemed to be a low priority.

Consultation began in July and documents revealed that homeopathy and herbal treatments — which were included in the review — cost taxpayers £141 million per year.